Iranian Feminist Activist Sentenced to Lashes, Prison

An Iranian women's rights activist was sentenced on Monday to 10 lashes and nearly three years in prison for her participation in a 2006 protest at Tehran Square. Delaram Ali, 24, along with nearly 70 others, was detained for several days after being arrested for protesting Iran’s discriminatory laws against women. Among other demands, the women called for divorce reform, equal inheritance laws, and the equal treatment of women’s testimonies in the eyes of the court in Iran.

According to Ali’s lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh, she was charged with “participation in an illegal gathering,” “propaganda against the system,” and “disturbing the public order,” according to Agence France Presse. Sotoudeh said that Ali was her fourth client to be convicted by the Islamic state for participating in last year’s protest, according to Kerala Next.

“The [Iranian] women’s movement is expanding and it worries the government,” said Sotoudeh, according to Reuters. “Delaram Ali’s sentence is too heavy...a [lashing] sentence for social and women’s rights activists is against international law,” she said, according to AFP. Sotoudeh told Reuters that the sentence would be appealed, and that Ali has been released on $21,000 bail.

Media Resources: Reuters 7/4/07; Agence France Presse 7/4/07; Kerala Next 7/4/07

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